


Countdown

by septnanis



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Drama, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Introversion, Kissing, M/M, Making Friends, Post-Canon, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-03-06 12:12:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18850837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/septnanis/pseuds/septnanis
Summary: Strength, to protect what matters.Riku and his friendships.





	1. Roxas

 

The serene atmosphere outside the Mysterious Tower was interrupted by the Gummiship landing a little away from where Sora sat on the steps. It had been a year since he and Riku had returned, and once a month Sora’s presence was requested at the Mysterious Tower so he could update Master Yen Sid on his progress.

 

Since his return Sora’s magic had been all over the place, barely there one moment and so powerful he could barely control it the next. The Keyblade still came to him without hesitation, but whenever someone mentioned the power of waking in any capacity it would disappear in a shower of light and Sora’s face would shutter.

 

The hatch of the Gummiship opened and Sora’s face lit up just a little. Out stepped Riku and surprisingly after him, Roxas. After hearing what happened between the two of them Sora had urged them to talk things through, especially after experiencing the tension that hung between them. Most of the time Sora thought they acted in a civil manner to each other because he was there and neither of them wanted to upset him.

 

“Hey, you,” Riku said as he approached him. His brow furrowed automatically when he saw the frown on Sora’s face. “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing,” Sora replied, looking down at the stone steps between his legs. “Hi, Roxas.” He looked up and like flipping a light switch, his mouth curved up into a bright smile. One that neither Roxas nor Riku seemed convinced by.

 

“Hey, Sora,” Roxas said nevertheless, smiling back at him. “How’d it go?”

 

The simple words made the smile slip and Riku saw his eyes tense, a face he knew well enough to know that he was pushing back what he was feeling. Riku sat down next to Sora on the steps and gave Sora a nudge with his shoulder. Roxas moved to stand in front of Sora.

 

“Did something happen,” Roxas asked.

 

Sora looked down at the ground again and Riku saw him squeeze his eyes shut from he sat. Sora looked up suddenly, his grin huge but his eyes watery.

 

“I don’t think Master Yen Sid likes me very much,” He said, his voice a little choked. Riku and Roxas’ eyes met.

 

“Why do you say that?” Riku asked.

 

Sora swallowed and then sighed. “He never says it but I’m just not quite good enough, I guess. Screwed up the Mark of Mastery, lost of the power of waking and when I got it back, I messed up again and you had to come save me. _Again_.” He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes suddenly. “Now I’m back and I’m still messing up. He says I’m not focussing, but I am.” He put his hands down and opened his eyes, red and a little watery. “I _am_.”

 

Before Riku could say anything, Roxas spoke. “Of course you are,” He said. “We’ve all seen how hard you’ve been working. I think maybe Master Yen Sid is just giving you a hard time because he thinks that’ll work. We all look up to you, Sora. He just doesn’t know you like we do.”

 

One tear slipped down Sora’s cheek and that was the last straw for Riku, who wrapped his arms around Sora and hugged him tight. He felt Sora’s hands curl into his jacket. After a moment he pulled back and used one hand to push Sora’s hair away from his forehead so he could see his face clearly. “Roxas is right. We all admire you and you deserve it. So it takes a little longer to get back on your feet, who cares?”

 

“Not me, or any of the others, that’s for sure,” Roxas said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

 

“We’ll figure it out, together,” Riku said softly, letting go of his hair and feeling relieved when Sora gave them a real smile. “All of us. We’re with you. One day you'll believe you're as strong as we know you are.”

 

“Thanks,” Sora mumbled, a mix of sadness and relief on his face.

 

Riku stood and pulled Sora up with him. “Hey, why don’t you get the ship going, I need to get something from upstairs. Oof,” He exhaled sharply when Sora grabbed him around the middle to give him another tight hug. “Alright, you little monkey, go get that ship running… Roxas, think you could give me a hand?”

 

Their eyes met over Sora’s head and there was recognition there. “Oh, sure,” Roxas nodded. “We’ll be done in a minute, Sora.”

 

Sora smiled and let go of Riku, twisting his hands together the way he did when he was embarrassed but didn’t want to show it. “Don’t take too long, okay?”

 

Both Riku and Roxas nodded and watched him cross the grass to the Gummiship. Without further ado, Riku pushed the door of the Tower open and strode inside with a determined gait. Roxas followed and they climbed the stairs up, up, up until they reached the door that led to where Master Yen Sid and the Good Fairies were.

 

Roxas kept his eyes on Riku, trying to anticipate what was going to happen. He had an inkling what Riku was going to do, but he couldn’t be quite sure. Riku always struck Roxas as the type of person who was stickler for the rules but he also knew the lengths he would go to for Sora’s sake.

 

“Riku, Roxas,” Yen Sid greeted them when the entered the room. As always Riku gave the Master a curt bow, but his face was tense. “What can I do for you?”

 

“Master,” Riku began. “I’d like to ask that you go easy on Sora.”

 

“Oh?” Yen Sid asked, his face stoic as always and the air of authority around him increasing.

 

Roxas saw something change in Riku, that part of him that had the greatest respect for people with authority tremble just a bit. He knew it was taking all of Riku’s willpower to say what Roxas now knew he was going to say.

 

“He’s doing the best he can. Before Xehanort, we were all hard on him. We never let him breathe, always telling him to do better, to fight this battle, to save this person, keep this world from disappearing. He’s just… he’s better than all of us, but trying to force it out of him isn’t working.” Riku’s eyes grew brighter the more he spoke.

 

“Sora has never mentioned to me that this bothers him,” Yen Sid said, looking genuinely confused at Riku’s behavior.

 

“And he never will,” Roxas intervened. “Sora’s greatest strength is that he sees good in everything, and wants everyone to be happy. And we can’t take advantage of that. After everything, he doesn’t deserve that.”

 

Riku looked at Roxas and nodded in agreement. He turned back to Yen Sid. “Master, with all due respect, I’m asking you to stop.”

 

“And if I don’t,” Yen Sid asked, not threateningly, but seemingly out of genuine curiosity. It wasn’t hard to imagine why, Riku had never spoken that way to him.

 

“Then I _will_ ,” Riku replied. Both Roxas and Yen Sid looked surprised. “All of this,” He took a step back and held out his arm, summoning Braveheart in an instant. “ _This_ … it doesn’t mean anything if it’s making him unhappy. This is my strength to protect who’s precious to me. I’ll protect him from anything.”

 

A long moment of silence fell over them and Roxas suddenly remembered Sora was still downstairs, sitting in the Gummiship, probably wondering what was taking them so long. It wasn’t in Sora’s nature to be suspicious, but surely he had doubts whether they had gone upstairs just to get something. The tension between Yen Sid and Riku wavered and Braveheart dematerialised.

 

“Thank you for your candor, Riku,” Yen Said said, looking at Riku as if he was a different person. “I will consider your words carefully.” It was the most polite _get the hell out_ Roxas had ever heard. 

 

The answer seemed to satisfy Riku and he bowed once more, unwilling to let his protest be deterred by a lack of manners. He turned and walked to the door and Roxas followed him, giving Yen Sid a nod as a goodbye.

 

As they walked down the stairs, Roxas thought of a dozen different things he wanted to say but ended up blurting out, “He’s everything to you, isn’t he?”

 

Riku stopped and turned to Roxas. At first he looked surprised until he looked conflicted. “Yeah, it’s a part of who I am.” He clenched his fists for a moment but then they relaxed again. “Roxas, what I did to you… to Xion, back then all I could think of was saving him. I didn’t see you, or her. That you were people, too. And that Sora would’ve been sad to know I thought you or Xion were worth sacrificing for his sake.”

 

Roxas held his breath and felt his heart speed up.

 

“I’m sorry,” Riku said, placing a hand on his chest. “More than anything, I’m sorry. I hope one day we can be friends… not just because Sora wants us to be. But because you’re what I couldn’t see you as back then.”

 

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Roxas replied carefully.

 

“A guy that I’d like to be friends with?” Riku said with half a smile. “Just a person, with a heart of his own and feelings and dreams and fears?”

 

It didn’t make everything alright. A part of him still looked at Riku and saw the obsessive person he’d been when Roxas had been in the Organization. But a part of him, slowly but surely a larger part saw him as he was now, the same way Riku saw him.

 

“I’d like that,” Roxas said. “Someday.”

 

Maybe any other person would be deterred by Roxas’ reply, stoic and standoffish as it may have come across, but Riku’s eyes were honest with their relief. “I’m glad.” He said, and turned away without another word.

 

—-

 

“Where were you two?” Sora cried out from the front seat, his legs swung over the arm, his Gummiphone in hand. “I was just about to call you!”

 

He looked much better, his eyes had cleared and his face had brightened and Riku couldn’t help but cross the ship and lean over to kiss him. A surprised choked off noise escaped Sora but it was followed by a happy hum as he slipped his arms around Riku’s neck so he could return the kiss properly. Riku broke away and gave his legs a pat to encourage him to sit right in his seat.

 

“Never you mind,” Riku said. “Get us out of here?”

 

“But…” Sora gestured between the two of them, like it was hardwired into him to keep Roxas and Riku from having to deal with each other.

 

“No buts, I’m hungry,” Roxas said from his seat. “Riku’s buying us dinner.”

 

“Of course he is,” Riku replied, giving Roxas a sharp look that slid into a grin. Roxas returned it.

 

Sora turned in his seat and decided not to say anything.

 

“We should go that place in Twilight Town that Lea took us to last time you guys were there.” Roxas said, already looking forward to it, especially now that it had been established that Riku would be paying.

 

“With the cheeseburgers!” Sora exclaimed happily from the front seat.

 

“Extra onions,” Roxas added.

 

“No pickles,” Riku said with finality.

 

Roxas nodded. “Definitely no pickles.”

 

Riku looked at Roxas and Roxas looked back at him. “I’d like that,” Riku said.

 

From the front seat Sora couldn’t help himself and looked back at Riku, looking a little in awe that he and Roxas seemed to be at the very least, civil towards one another. Riku gave him a wink and a light blush dusted his tan cheeks, his smile even wider than before.

 

Roxas looked at the exchange and gave into the feeling inside him just a little. Someday he might be able to give in all the way. When Sora turned back once again to see where he was flying, Riku looked over at Roxas.

 

“I’m glad.” Roxas said, and meant it.


	2. Tifa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku makes a new friend - someone who understands the blessings and perils of spiky haired men.

For all the ways Riku was the kind of person who usually had his head on straight, he was horrible with his Gummiphone. The first time he got it he didn’t know what to do with it and honestly hadn’t really seen the point of it. During the time they got their phones Mickey would usually use his to contact Sora.

 

It wasn’t until Sora discovered messaging, and sending photographs, that Riku started to appreciate the new technology he’d been given. The messages — happy, _look at this!_ messages that conveyed Sora’s personality so well Riku could almost hear them in his voice — and the pictures he sent were saved until his phone had warned him his storage was nearly full. The first time the little Sora — Data Sora, he called himself and Riku suddenly remembered how _adorable_ Sora used to be — popped up on his phone and asked him if he wanted his messages and pictures archived Riku had shoved the phone in his pocket with a burning face.

 

Like he’d been caught being so ridiculously in love with his best friend by a _digitalised version_ of his best friend.

 

Still, despite appreciating the Gummiphone, he was still a nightmare with it, according to Sora. Riku’s messages were curt and to the point. His photos almost never featured him, something both Sora and Kairi bemoaned constantly. They made up for it by taking selfie after selfie after selfie with him whenever they were together.

 

He also forgot, more often than not, to charge it properly. So it lost power at random times, usually in the middle of the day.

 

Today was such a day and the black screen of his powered down Gummiphone looked back at him with an almost judgmental stare.

 

A few days ago they’d travelled to Radiant Garden to do errands and spend time with the friends who lived there. It had taken a while for Sora to get out of the funk his meeting with Yen Sid had put him in, so Riku had put his best boyfriend foot forward and dragged him around all the worlds he knew Sora loved. Slowly but surely, his best friend was getting his shine back.

 

But now Sora was somewhere in Radiant Garden, doing whatever he’d been doing and they had no way to contact each other.

 

After an hour of walking around and going to the places he thought Sora might be, Riku sat down on a bench in one of the many squares, a large fountain surrounded by rose bushes in several colors and waited. He figured if Sora was looking for him he might as well stay in one place. He’d thought about going back to the city center and finding Kairi so she could call Sora, but it was all the way across the city and to be honest, Riku was _tired_.

 

He sighed and tipped his head back, deciding to enjoy the sunny weather and the sounds of birds and people laughing. It was one of the less busy squares, he and Sora had been there before on one of their dates.

 

“Excuse me!” A woman’s voice called out, and Riku’s eyes popped open and his head straightened out of reflex. He was just about to feel silly that he thought it was to him, until his eyes met the person who called out and it was clear she was talking to him.

 

“Uh, yeah?” Riku asked, feeling silly anyway.

 

The woman walked straight up to him and put a hand on her hip. She had dark hair and her brown eyes were warm. Riku sat up a little straighter.

 

“I’m looking for someone,” She said. Riku wanted to reply with a ‘you’re not the only one’ but there was something about her that made him feel like he should watch how much of a smartass he was. “A guy with spiky hair. Have you seen one pass here by any chance?”

 

Riku shook his head, and then he laughed. “Well, I know a guy with a spiky hair but I doubt you mean him.”

 

She cocked her head in confusion and put her other hand on her hip.

 

“What do you mean?” She asked. “I’m Tifa, by the way. Sorry to just get up in your face, but I’ve been looking for ages. Felt like I was going in circles.”

 

Riku suddenly began to doubt that they weren’t looking for the same spiky haired guy, but he couldn’t imagine why this woman was looking for Sora. She sat down next to him.

 

“I’m Riku,” He introduced himself and moved a little to make room for her that she didn’t really need. “It’s funny, I’ve just spent the last hour or so looking for someone with spiky hair too.”

 

Tifa’s confusion only seemed to deepen and her brow furrowed. “But… you know Cloud?”

 

Apparently Tifa’s spiky haired guy was not his spiky haired guy. And he knew the name Cloud, Sora had told Riku about him when they got back to the islands after they defeated Xemnas the first time. He told him about all the people he’d met, and Sora always told his stories with such enthusiasm, it was hard to forget any of them. 

 

“The guy I’m looking for knows Cloud. Or at least, I think we’re talking about the same Cloud,” Riku said and really wished his phone was on, so he could show Tifa a picture of Sora. “What are the odds that there are two people in the world with spiky hair named Cloud who have a huge sword and _kind of a bad, but cool attitude?_ ”

 

Tifa laughed. “Yeah, that's definitely Cloud. Don’t let the bad but cool attitude fool you, he’s kind of a dork," She said with a soft smile. She turned a little more towards him. “So we’re talking about two different spiky haired guys and we’ve lost both of them. Who’s yours?”

 

“His name’s Sora. I don’t know if Cloud’s ever mentioned him…”

 

“Mentioned him?” Tifa interrupted him brightly. “I’ve met Sora! What a nice kid… it just so happens he and I met when I was looking for Cloud too. Isn’t that funny? And he was looking for someone… was it you?”

 

Riku nodded and thought back and felt a little bit of an old anxiety creep up, back to the time when he’d been hiding in Ansem’s body, doing his absolute best to make sure Sora couldn’t find him. To think everyone knew how desperately he’d been searching for Riku warmed his heart though.

 

“I told him he’d find you!” She said, looking pleased. “Well, if he found you the first time, he’ll find you again. We can wait here together.”

 

It was nice, talking to Tifa. She didn’t seem to mind that he didn’t say much. Sometimes he felt like the reason he didn’t make friends easily was because he wasn’t as outgoing as Sora or even Kairi. Maybe he was a little too serious or maybe people thought he was boring or too intense, but he usually preferred staying in the background. He was awful at small talk anyway.

 

“I’m glad to see you worked it out,” She mused after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “He was so determined to find you… he must care for you a lot.”

 

Whenever someone else made a mention of how Sora felt about him, it always made butterflies in his stomach explode, fluttering every which way. Sora was free and generous with his affection, but to hear others picking up on it was something else entirely.

 

“Are you and Cloud…” Riku asked tentatively, wishing he could take it back right away. They’d just met, how rude was it for him to just assume that about her?

 

But unexpectedly, Tifa looked down at the ground shyly and then looked back up at him with a smile. “You could say that,” It wasn’t that she didn’t sound sure, only like she wasn’t sure what to call it. “He told me once, that I was his light.”

 

Apparently spiky hair wasn’t the only thing Cloud and Sora had in common. Sora had called him that once.

 

_You say I can swim my way out of any darkness,_ he said to Riku once, _but it’s only because the light in the darkness is so bright. That's all you._

 

“You sound like you two really care for each other,” Riku said, feeling more at ease in her presence.

 

“Ditto!” Tifa replied. Before she could say anything else another voice, a familiar one called out to them. 

 

Looking put out but happy, Sora came running into the square, waving his hand with the Gummiphone in it. Riku was really in for a lecture now.

 

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, mister, I… Tifa!” Sora’s laser focus on Riku suddenly shifted to the woman sitting beside him and Riku watched her give a bright smile.

 

“Hi, Sora,” She said, standing up. “Nice to see you again. I was keeping Riku company while we waited for you to find us.”

 

Sora’s cheeks puffed up a little and he turned his annoyance back to Riku with that. “I told you to charge your phone! It’s a good thing Tifa was here, or who knows what might have happened.”

 

Riku gave him a _are you kidding me?_ look. Radiant Garden was one of the safest worlds they’d ever travelled, now that it was no longer full of Hearstless and Nobodies.

 

“The first time we met, I may have gone a little overboard,” Tifa explained with a smile.

 

“Overboard?” Sora exclaimed. “You kicked the wall so hard the whole building shook!”

 

Tifa shrugged and held her hands up. Riku tried to imagine someone like Tifa kicking anything hard enough to make a whole building shake. She wasn’t as slight as most of the women he knew, her arms and legs were thicker with muscle but she still wasn’t a very large woman.

 

“Look,” Tifa said, waving at Sora and turning to Riku. She pulled what seemed to be her own phone, though it was smaller than their Gummiphones out of her pocket. She pressed a few buttons and held it out to Riku. “Why don't you put your number in here and the next time you're in town we can get together. It's nice to know there’s someone out there who understands both the hardship and bliss of having a spiky haired guy around.”

 

Instead of looking insulted, Sora suddenly looked pleased the idea that they’d been talking about him. Riku reached out and took her phone from her, relieved he knew his number by heart. He typed the number in and put his name next to it.

 

“Thanks!” Tifa said, taking the phone back. “Well, I’ve got a spiky haired guy to find, I’ll see you two later.”

 

Sora waved at her as she walked away and Riku smiled at her in lieu of goodbye. For a moment Sora stood facing away from Riku, still watching Tifa walk away until she was out of sight. Then he sat down next to Riku on the bench and sighed. “Riku,” He said in a questioning tone.

 

“Sora,” Riku said, trying to keep a balance between his amusement and his apprehension.

 

“Arm,” Sora said first and Riku lifted his arm so he could settle in the crook of it, leaning his head to the side so Riku could lean his cheek into brown hair. “Did you just get a phone number from a pretty lady?”

 

Riku burst out laughing. “Uh, I guess. Although, she got mine, right? I don’t have hers.”

 

“Because you let your phone battery die again,” Sora sniffed.

 

“I did,” Riku replied, wrapping his arm around Sora’s shoulders. Even though Sora was growing fast now, well into a final growth spurt that made the other gleeful and almost hopeful he was going to be as tall as Riku was — he wasn’t — he still fit perfectly into Riku’s side, puzzle pieces that slotted together effortlessly.

 

Sora began to talk excitedly about all the places in Radiant Garden he’d gone to look for Riku and Riku listened and nodded attentively.

 

He had a feeling his phone was going to be filling up with even more pictures of spiky haired guys in the future, but now he had another place to send his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just sliiiightly self indulgent, because she's my favourite game character of all time, but I still think Cloud and Tifa were absolutely a Soriku parallel in KH2. I never see it come up when people use parallels in the games and that makes me kinda sad. I always get squirmy during those scenes because it's so obvious. My Cloti bias may have a minor influence on that. 
> 
> Riku's silly and he doesn't know Sora's phone is full of Riku pictures that he takes, especially when Riku doesn't know he's getting his picture taken. 
> 
> As always, hope you enjoyed and look forward to the next part soon!
> 
> I'm on Twitter at @laughertea.


	3. Minnie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku reaches his limit and makes a Royal friend in the process.

It wasn’t often that Riku and Sora fought, but they were both stubborn and despite Sora’s deeply kind nature, he had a temper. Riku tended to give in quickly, which annoyed Sora because he disliked it when Riku gave what he thought Sora wanted. It usually ended up in a cycle that could only be broken by not talking to each other for a few hours, until they both realised they were being silly.

 

It had been two days already, and Sora hadn’t said a word so far. It was definitely starting to worry Riku, who caught himself checking his phone regularly — something he was usually terrible at — to see if Sora had sent him a message.

 

He thought being on mission would distract him, but all he’d been was absent minded. And he went on his mission solo, something he was allowed to do now that he was a Master, but his distracted head hadn’t been in the game and the hit a Heartless had landed on his wrist, his bad wrist, hurt so much it had him doubled over in pain. He took care of the Heartless on pure adrenaline and smiled with clenched teeth until he was back at the Gummiship and knocking back an Elixir with shaking hands. Curaga helped with the new bruise, but the groaning pain that remained had his hands shaking.

 

Unable to keep a hold of his pride any longer, he directed the ship towards Twilight Town — where Sora still was, as far as he knew — determined to put it right between them. He felt a slightly desperate need to be hugged bubble up inside him and he even felt his eyes grow warm, from being ignored for two days and his wrist still throbbing. With a shake of his head, he willed the emotion away, feeling silly and childish.

 

His plan seemed to be perfect, until a red light suddenly started flashing on the dashboard. Riku leaned over to see what it meant — he didn’t technically like flying in the Gummiship, so any flashing lights or beeping noises made him nervous — and his stomach filled with dread. Low fuel.

 

Apparently his distracted state of mind also made him forget to fill the Gummiship up with fuel before he left.

 

He pressed a few buttons, looking for the nearest world he could get too. The idea of being stranded in between worlds made his anxiety build, even if he could use his phone to call someone to get him.

 

With a sigh of relief he fell back against the seat, the little screen denoting Disney Castle as the nearest world. He entered the code for the auto pilot to take him there and tried to relax his grip on the steering controls. There should be more than enough fuel to get him there.

 

——

 

“Riku!” Chip cried out, hopping over to him as he disembarked. “We weren’t expecting you! Is something wrong?”

 

Riku smiled and waved a hand. “Hi Chip, hi Dale… I ah, seem to be low on fuel. Miscalculation.”

 

Both chipmunks tittered and put their hands on their hips. “Well, we’ll have that fixed in a jiffy! But uh, maybe you should go take a walk around the Castle, a jiffy should be an hour or two!”

 

Riku felt a little nervous going into the Castle by himself. Usually he was with Mickey, and he would follow diligently as they made their way through the vast halls. He’d never been to Disney Castle by himself. Still, the idea of staying in the hangar for a few hours sounded boring and his phone still hadn’t chimed with any messages yet.

 

“Sure,” He replied and gave them a wave as he made his way out of the hangar.

 

Disney Castle was still pretty as ever, the sun always shining, the green of the grass and the shrubs so vibrant it almost shimmered in the sunlight. A few enchanted brooms bustled past him, looking as annoyed as brooms could that he was in their way. “Sorry!” He apologised, skipping out of the way quickly.

 

He walked through the gardens until he found a white stone bench. The ache in his wrist was making him feel a little woozy, and if he was almost tempted to go back to the ship and lie down there. Just as he was pulling his bracer off to see if the bruising was getting any better a voice tinkled like a bell across the gardens.

 

“Riku!” Queen Minnie’s voice made him look up and smile despite how miserable he felt. Every time he saw her he felt like she got a little smaller, even if he realised it was because he was still growing. Her dress was a pretty lilac color that made him think of Kairi. “I didn’t know you were coming, I would have come to greet you.”

 

Riku stood. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” He said, and bowed.

 

Queen Minnie waved at him in a dismissive manner. “None of that,” She joined him at the bench and gestured at him to sit back down. “Oh Riku, you look white as a sheet. Are you all right?”

 

It was bound to be something to make him snap, but he hadn’t expected Queen Minnie’s kind voice and concern to be it. He sat down and exhaled sharply, something that may have sounded vaguely like a sob escaping him with the exhale of breath. He gripped his arm and shook his head, eyes shut tight in embarrassment.

 

Soft fingers closed around his arm. “Let me see,” She said gently, pulling at the straps of his bracer. Riku’s eyes opened and sucked in a sharp breath when the support of the bracer went away as Queen Minnie pulled it off. His lower arm was blue with bruising and yellowing around the edges, but it looked much better than it had before which was a relief. “Oh, you poor thing.” She ran her fingers over the bruised area.

 

A light tingle, a little like a cure spell but softer somehow followed the trail of her fingers. It was Light, her own special magic that he’d only seen her cast once or twice. “Sorry,” He said, sniffing and looking to the side, his cheeks flushed. “Don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

 

“You push yourself too hard, Riku,” Queen Minnie said, like a mother, gentle and patient but firm. “You mustn’t forget how young you are. Young men need a little freedom, besides their duty.” She continued to let Light travel through his arm, the bruising ebbing away like a shadow in sunlight. The sensation of her magic travelled from his arm throughout his whole body.

 

“It’s okay,” He replied. “It’s an old injury and I was careless.” The sun that was pleasant before was starting to become too hot, little beads of sweat forming on his forehead. As if she could read his mind Queen Minnie took his hand.

 

“Let’s go inside,” She said and he stood. “You’re just in time for tea.”

 

She turned in a swish of lilac and white ruffles and he followed her dutifully, looking down at his arm from the corner of his eye as they made their way inside a little in awe. Her magic was truly impressive. Once they were inside and out of the sun he already felt a little better but still mortified that he’d broken down so suddenly in front of her.

 

The room they entered was white as the rest of the castle, but it was full of plants and flowers, at it’s center a little hand painted table with small chairs around it. On it stood a tea set, steam rising lazily from the spout of the teapot. When they reached the table Queen Minnie giggled suddenly and gestured at one of the chairs. “Please, take a seat.”

 

The chair reminded Riku of the little chairs he and Sora and Kairi had sat on when they were little in school. He remembered seeing his mother sit on one once, her knees drawn up, looking even bigger than she already did in contrast to the chair. Riku sat down on the chair carefully, afraid he might damage it with how much bigger he was. He pulled his knees up and rested his hands on them.

 

“Do you take sugar in your tea, Riku?” Queen Minnie asked, holding the teapot so delicately as she poured into his cup. Even the teacups looked like they were children’s toys, but so finely made they couldn’t actually be.

 

Riku shook his head. “No, thank you, Your Majesty,” He replied. She gestured at the plate of little cakes on the table. He shook his head again. “No, thank you. I don’t really like sweets.” He could eat like he was three men but anything sweet made him nauseous.

 

Queen Minnie rounded the table and poured her own cup of tea. The little sugar lumps she put in her tea glittered in the white light around them. “How odd, considering…”

 

With a careful hand Riku reached over and picked up his cup of tea, inhaling the flowery scent before taking a sip. “Considering?”

 

“Well… Sora,” she said by way of explanation. Which didn’t really explain anything to him and he tilted his head again in confusion. She giggled again. “You like Sora. Very much, I believe.”

 

Despite not having spoken to the other in two days a smile crept onto Riku’s face just thinking about him. He always had that effect on him, no matter how far apart they were or even if they were mad at each other. “Yes,” He agreed. “He’s good at being the exception to prove the rule.”

 

They sat together in comfortable silence for a while. The smell of the tea and Queen Minnie’s presence made him feel more peaceful, even the pain in his wrist not as noticeable as before. He was almost glad he nearly ran out of fuel, or he may have never come to Disney Castle. It was obvious Mickey wasn’t there, or she would have already asked if she’d come to see him. It dawned on Riku that he’d never really paid enough attention to the Queen of Disney Castle, even though she really was something.

 

“I think,” She began, holding her tea cup up to her face with both hands. “That Master Yen Sid and the King forget how young you are sometimes. So, you should try and take care of yourself.”

 

Riku nodded. “Sora and I uh, we had a fight about it. I was mad because he wants to do everything himself.” Even after they had returned together, Sora could be insecure. The last time at the Mysterious Tower made that all the more clear. So he pushed himself to do things alone, in a way to prove he didn’t need to rely on others. “But he thought I meant that he couldn’t do things alone, not that he doesn’t have to.”

 

Queen Minnie placed her teacup on its saucer with a tiny tinkle. “You and Sora… your lives are so intertwined, sometimes you’re more concerned about each other and forget all about yourselves. It will be easier to love each other if you feel that love for yourself first.”

 

It was an undeniable truth that Riku knew, but he’d always found it difficult to do that. He’d grown over the years, he no longer hated himself as he had before. “Well, we haven’t spoken in two days, so I think he’s still pretty mad at me.”

 

The little shake of her head made Riku smile. “I think he misses you,” She said. “And he probably thinks you’re still mad at him.” She stood and walked around the table to pour him another cup of tea. “Why don’t you send him a message and see what happens. In the meantime, would you like to help me? I’ve been thinking about organising a ball, but I can’t decide how I want to arrange the ballroom.”

 

It was far beyond his area of expertise, but Riku wanted to spend more time in Queen Minnie’s presence. He made a promise to himself to visit her more often. He pulled his phone from his pocket and typed a short message to Sora.

 

_Hi. I’m at Disney Castle and I miss you._

 

He put the phone back in his pocket straight away, feeling a little embarrassed how bad he was with words and swallowed his cup of tea in one gulp. Queen Minnie smiled at him and gestured him to follow her, her own tea cup still in her hand.

 

They walked together down the hall in the direction they came. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” He said, feeling truly grateful to her.

 

Queen Minnie stopped and looked up at him. “Now now, Riku. You can call me Minnie. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

 

The peaceful feeling in his stomach crept up into his chest and made his heart skip a bit. He didn’t have many friends. He wasn’t very good at making friends. It wasn’t easy for him to make friends. But to know he’d just made a friend, especially one as kind and gentle as Minnie made him feel a little proud of himself.

 

The knowing smile on Minnie’s face said it all and she continued to walk without even telling him to follow her.

 

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out straight away.

 

_I miss you too! I’m really sorry I’ve been so quiet but I thought you were still mad at me. :(_

 

Riku smiled at his phone and sent him a reply.

 

_I’m not. I was worried you were. We’ll work it out when I get back._

 

The reply came barely a few seconds after he pushed the send button.

 

_Of course! I can’t wait to see you!_

 

Riku’s smiled widened as he hurried along after Minnie. As much as he couldn’t wait to see Sora again, he had a new friend and a ball to help organise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's silly, one of my biggest wishes is to see Riku and Minnie interact. What we got in DDD was so lovely, I just wanted even more. I think they'd make really good friends. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed as always, and you can find me on Twitter at @laughertea.

**Author's Note:**

> 1 out of 10! That's right, I have zero impulse control, so there will be 10 little chapters of Riku forging friendships with the people around him. Sora shows up along the way, because that's just how it works.
> 
> I didn't want to make everything between him and Roxas alright, right off the bat. Their relationship is too complicated for that. But I do think once they work through it they have the potential to be really great friends. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed and look forward to the next one soon! Meanwhile I'm on Twitter, and I love making new friends! You can find me at @laughertea.


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